Text Santa: I was so moved by dementia appeal

All this week I’ve been meeting people affected by dementia.

I spoke to those who are living with Alzheimer’s or are having to care for a loved one with the disease.

It was all part of ITV’s Text Santa appeal to raise money and awareness for charities that desperately need help. And it was a real eye-opener.

TV newsreader Angela Rippon looked after her mother until she died in 2009 with dementia and has been a passionate crusader for greater awareness of the disease.

She says that it is important to take the fear away from this illness and to get a diagnosis as quickly as possible. I know what she means about the fear.

I find the thought of developing dementia or someone I care about having the disease utterly terrifying.

It’s as though you lose them bit by bit and you are left with nothing but an empty shell but thankfully there is a lot more information and support these days.

Having someone you love suffer from any kind of dementia obviously affects the whole family.

Life changes and there is a different reality. A lot of the carers told me they ‘seize the day’ and ‘live in the now’ making sure they squeeze every last drop of fun and happiness for as long as possible.

Actually, I think that’s a good philosophy for life, whether you have been hit by dementia or not. At least we are all talking openly about the disease now.

Even a decade ago, it was like a shameful secret, which is completely ridiculous as there is nothing to be ashamed about.

However, sadly there was still a stigma attached to sufferers. With our ageing population there will be more and more of us who develop the disease.

By next year there will be 850,000 people in the UK with dementia and that number will continue to rise.

It also affects around 40,000 younger people and we featured a young man who was in his 30s when he was diagnosed.

His parents cope as best they can and they have the back-up of the brilliant Alzheimer’s Society.

Also, thanks to the launch of ‘dementia cafs’, they can meet up with others going through the same thing and share their experiences and receive support from experts.

I was also hugely impressed with the ‘forget me not’ choirs, which are a brilliant idea to get sufferers and carers together to sing their hearts out and have a joyful time.

As well as Angela, former Strictly judge Arlene Phillips spoke about how her family coped when her dad began showing signs of Alzheimer’s.

She was very open and said she really regretted the way she tried to correct him all the time instead of just going with the flow and keeping him happy.

When he asked about her mum who had passed away, Arlene would gently explain she was dead which made him upset. She wishes she had adjusted to his world.

Vicky McClure, who starred in Broadchurch and Line of Duty, talked about her grandmother who has dementia and how tough it has been, but also how important it is to make sure she has the best quality of life for as long as possible.

It was so moving to hear their stories and also to focus on some of the more positive aspects of the disease.

There are treatments that can be given in the early stages and there is more help out there than ever before.

Money is being raised to fund research and there is a far greater understanding of all forms of dementia.

There is a long way to go, but slowly and surely we are getting there.